Tag Archives: 2024 Legislature

REMINDER: 4th District town hall meeting tomorrow night (April 2)

Note: The following e-newsletter was sent to Sen. Padden’s subscribers April 1, 2024. To subscribe to Sen. Padden’s newsletter, click here.

Dear friends and neighbors,

Here is a reminder that you are invited to attend a town hall meeting I am hosting tomorrow night (April 2) to discuss the recently ended 2024 legislative session. The meeting will be held from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the Gerald A. Scheele Training Room at the Spokane Conservation District Building, 4422 E. 8th Ave. in Spokane Valley.

During the one-hour meeting, key issues from the session will be discussed and questions taken. I hope you can attend. If you have questions, please contact my legislative assistant, Annalise, by calling our district office at 509-921-2460.

If you have questions about how to participate in state government this year or thoughts to share on anything in this e-newsletter, please give me a call or send me an email. 

Thank you, as always, for the honor of representing you in Olympia!

Best Regards,

Senator Mike Padden

Contact us!

If you have a question or concern about state government, please do not hesitate to contact our office. During the interim, we are conducting business from our district office in Spokane Valley. We are here to serve you!

Phone: 509-921-2460

Email address: Mike.Padden@leg.wa.gov

PLEASE NOTE: Any email or documents you provide to this office may be subject to disclosure under RCW 42.56. If you would prefer to communicate by phone, please contact Sen. Padden’s Olympia office at (360) 786-7606.

To request public records from Sen. Padden, please contact Randi Stratton, the designated public records officer for the Secretary of the Senate and Senate members.

Legislature OKs second Padden bill removing red tape from construction of smaller condominiums

For the second year in a row, the Legislature has unanimously approved a bill introduced by 4th District Sen. Mike Padden that helps encourage home ownership in Washington by making it easier to construct smaller condominium buildings.

Senate Bill 5792 would exclude buildings with 12 or fewer units that are no more than three stories high from the definition of “multiunit residential building” if one story is utilized for above- or below-ground parking or retail space.

The House of Representatives passed the measure on Friday 96-0 after the Senate approved it 49-0 last month. It now goes to Gov. Jay Inslee for final consideration.

“This bill builds on last year’s efforts to have more housing options for Washington’s middle class,” said Padden, R-Spokane Valley. “Condominiums provide an affordable path to homeownership for first-time homebuyers.”

When SB 5792 received a public hearing in the House Housing Committee last month, Spokane Valley Mayor Pam Haley and an official with the Building Industry Association of Washington testified in favor of it.

During a public hearing on SB 5792 in the Senate Law and Justice Committee early this session, Spokane City Council President Betsy Wilkerson and Spokane Valley City Council member Rod Higgins testified in support of the bill.

The law created last year by Padden’s Senate Bill 5058 exempts buildings with 12 or fewer units that are no more than two stories high from the definition of “multiunit residential building.”

Padden said the combination of SB 5058 and this year’s new bill should result in more homeownership in the state.

“Washington has one of the lower homeownership rates in the nation, and both policies can help our state address this problem,” said Padden. “These smaller condominiums would still have the same building requirements that a townhouse or single-family house would have.”

Senate passes second Padden bill removing red tape from construction of smaller condominiums

A year ago, the Legislature unanimously approved a bill from 4th District Sen. Mike Padden that helps encourage home ownership in Washington by making it easier to construct smaller condominium buildings.

A similar condo-construction measure introduced by Padden is advancing this year following passage today by the Senate on a 49-0 vote. The proposal now goes to the House of Representatives for consideration.

Senate Bill 5792 would exclude buildings with 12 or fewer units that are no more than three stories high from the definition of “multiunit residential building” if one story is utilized for above- or below-ground parking or retail space.

“This bill builds on last year’s efforts to have more housing options for Washington’s middle class,” said Padden, R-Spokane Valley. “Condominiums provide an affordable path to homeownership for first-time homebuyers.”

When SB 5792 received a public hearing in the Senate Law and Justice Committee last month, several people testified in favor of it, including Spokane Valley City Council member Rod Higgins, Spokane City Council President Betsy Wilkerson, Greenstone Corporation’s Jim Frank and officials from the Washington Realtors Association and the Building Industry Association of Washington.

The law created last year by Padden’s Senate Bill 5058 exempts buildings with 12 or fewer units that are no more than two stories high from the definition of “multiunit residential building.”

Padden said the combination of that law and this year’s new bill should result in more homeownership in the state.

“Washington has one of the lower homeownership rates in the nation, and both policies can help our state address this problem,” said Padden. “These smaller condominiums would still have the same building requirements that a townhouse or single-family house would have.”